Quarterback Curt Phillips acknowledged after his first start he was like a young boy on Christmas.

Tailbacks Montee Ball and James White ran with speed, power and elusiveness and combined for 359 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

Yet the group that made it all work was the offensive line, with help from the tight ends and fullback Derek Watt, of course.

Indiana entered the day with 67 tackles for loss in nine games, 7.4 per game. The Hoosiers recorded six tackles for loss Saturday, but many times Ball and White made it to the linebackers, and sometimes the secondary, untouched.

In short, UW's blockers won the battle at the line of scrimmage and paved the way for a school-record 564-yard rushing day.

"Wisconsin's good," Indiana coach Kevin Wilson said when asked about the Badgers' rushing performance. "They do some nice little stuff. A little fine motion stuff with their guys to get you out of whack. . . .

"It's simple stuff what they do. They just blocked us. I'll wait to see the tape, but I thought we had some guys that needed to come up and make some tackles but didn't."

OFFENSIVE PLAY OF THE GAME

Indiana had just scored and UW had the ball in the final minute of the first half and was just trying to keep the ball away from the home team, when White lifted his teammates and crushed the Hoosiers' hopes with a remarkable run.

With the Hoosiers holding onto their final timeout of the half and the clock winding down, UW faced third and 15 from its 31.

Phillips lined up in the shotgun with White to his left.

White took the handoff and started right. Seeing nothing but red Indiana jerseys at the line of scrimmage, White made two quick, hard cuts.

He went left and then right and somehow squirted through the sea of red and into the open field.

White made safety Greg Heban miss with a hard cut to the outside near the 40, picked up a key downfield block from wide receiver Jared Abbrederis on cornerback Brian Williams and followed Phillips into the end zone with 14 seconds left.

White laughed when asked to describe how he scored.

"It was a stretch play out of the shotgun and a lineman turned up so I followed him," he said. "But the hole got clogged so I was going to bounce it all the way back around to the left.

"Then a guy came around on the other side, and I was like: 'Man, I just messed this whole play up.' "

Not quite.

"I just turned straight, and there was a big hole. I made one guy miss and had blocks downfield and I scored."

According to White, he had a quick chat with Phillips on the way to the end zone.

"He said he didn't know where I was going so he didn't really know what to do," White said. "He was going to make a block."

Asked about his effort on the play, Phillips grinned and said: "I just tried not to get in his way."

DEFENSIVE PLAY OF THE GAME

The outcome had long been determined - UW held a 48-14 lead in the fourth quarter - when cornerback Devin Smith showed he hadn't quit playing.

Smith was trailing by a step or two but closing when he saw the ball was underthrown. Smith then cut underneath Stoner to intercept the pass at the UW 43.

Smith got to the sideline and gained 24 yards before being knocked out of bounds at the Indiana 33.

That play led to a 17-yard touchdown run by Melvin Gordon, which allowed UW to set the school record for rushing yards in a game.

UW coach Bret Bielema predicted Smith would get his third interception of the season.

"I told Devin this morning at breakfast: 'He is going to give you one today,' " Bielema said. "I was (teasing him) a little about that he couldn't get into the end zone."

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAY OF THE GAME

UW redshirt freshman punter Drew Meyer entered the day with a 41.5-yard average, tied for the No. 4 mark in the Big Ten.

But his total of 24 punts inside the 20, out of 51 tries, was the No. 2 mark in the league.

With UW's lead at 17-0 in the first half and the Badgers playing for field position because they were going into a strong wind, Meyer hit a 30-yard, Aussie-style punt that was downed at the 3.

"At that point the game was about field position," Bielema said. "So I said: 'Don't hit it long buddy.'

"He played it perfectly into the wind."

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

Indiana's defenders had to be dizzy after spending all afternoon trying to get lined up properly in the face of UW's constant shifts and motions.

"He does a really good job of doing the same (plays) out of different looks," Bielema said of offensive coordinator Matt Canada. "And then on the flipside of it, giving you the same look and running a different play."

Freshman linebacker Vince Biegel, who suffered a broken left foot in camp and has played briefly in one game this season, has returned to practice.

But Biegel still isn't healthy enough to play and is headed for a redshirt year.

"That is the way it is looking right now unless there is a sudden and surprising change," defensive coordinator Charlie Partridge said before the game. "I don't think he is a guy we'll have this year."

Biegel should compete for playing time at linebacker in 2013 and could be used as an edge rusher, as Chris Borland was as a freshman in 2009.

"You could put him in as a rusher for Borland," Partridge said, "or use him and Borland and see what he can do."

BY THE NUMBERS

2 Interceptions by UW, which led to two TDs

7 Passes attempted by UW

18.0 Indiana's average yardage on five kickoff returns

46.2% UW's third-down conversion rate

605 Total yards for UW

18:54 UW's edge in time of possession

QUOTABLE

"I didn't let our guys talk about it during the week. But I said today: 'Embrace it. You win today, and you’re punching your ticket to Indy.'"

Bret Bielema, UW coach, on the Badgers clinching a berth in the Big Ten title game

UP NEXT

UW is in the Big Ten Conference championship game but wants more. The Badgers still can win a share of the Leaders Division title, but to do so, they must beat the Buckeyes and Penn State and see Ohio State fall against Michigan in the regular-season finale.